OutdoorPix- Girl and Dog on the Lake of the Sky

H and Daisy Water Dog, enjoying a glassy Lake Tahoe morning. Stand up Paddleboarding (SUP) has become wildly popular on Lake Tahoe in the last few years. Can’t imagine why.

Lake Tahoe has many nicknames. One of them is Big Blue. Yes, the water really is that shockingly blue. Tahoe is one of the deepest alpine lakes in the world, which contributes to its amazing color. Here, the water is several hundred feet deep just a couple hundred yards off shore.

Daisy Water Dog loves to SUP. She is a great swimmer, but she wears a life jacket when we paddleboard in case of unexpected dunks. The life jacket keeps her head completely out of the water instead of swimming at snout level. She knows the routine, and actually comes right up to have it put on.

Naturally, she insists on being the first one to load up. She doesn’t whine, bark, or cry. She just takes her place on the front of the board and calmly watches the shore glide by. But when we get on shore again, it’s on! Ashore there is much rolling, digging holes, playing, swimming, and woo wooing (“woo woo” is the unique sound of the springer spaniel).

It’s hard to be famous: Daisy Water Dog has had hundreds of photos taken of her by strangers. Motorboats buzz us for photo ops, and people on shore often point and wave when we glide by. Daisy takes her paparazzi in stride, and loves performing for the camera. Just a biscuit and ear scratch is all she asks.

Can we go now?

What’s wrong with this thing? I’m on board, why aren’t we going anywhere?

The first picture I saw of Daisy she was on a paddleboard with H. I had no idea what an SUP was at the time, but it’s easy to see why Daisy has a paparazzi following her. It’s a good thing you are her parents instead of some couch potatoes.

We can’t imagine not taking Daisy anywhere we can. When we got her as a pup I could hold her in one hand, and we started by putting her in the messenger bag on the bike and riding around with her. Now she loves riding on anything she can- wheelbarrows, bike trailers, surfboards, sleds, SUPs, kayaks, etc.